Mideast Summit Has "A Hopeful Beginning"

President George W. Bush, capping an intense flurry of diplomacy, said Wednesday the agreement by Israeli and Palestinian leaders to resume long-stalled peace talks was "a hopeful beginning."

Bush was joined at the White House by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in a brief ceremony a day after they agreed in nearby Annapolis, Maryland, to try to reach a Mideast peace settlement by the end of 2008.

"One thing I have assured both gentlemen is that the United States will be actively engaged in the process," Bush said. "We will use our power to help you as you come up with the necessary decisions to lay out a Palestinian state that will live side-by-side in peace with Israel."

As part of the U.S. pledge to assist in the peace process, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice tapped a former NATO commander on Wednesday to serve as a special envoy for Middle East security.

"Yesterday was an important day, and it was a hopeful beginning," Bush said with the leaders at his side. "No matter how important yesterday was, it's not nearly as important as tomorrow and the days beyond. I appreciate the commitment of these leaders, working hard to achieve peace. I wouldn't be standing here if I didn't believe that peace was possible, and they wouldn't be here either if they didn't think peace was possible."

Unlike their three-way handshake on Tuesday, the leaders did not shake hands at the White House.

"I appreciate your courage and leadership," Bush said. "It's an honor to call you friends. And it's an honor to have watched you yesterday as you laid out your respective visions for something we all want, which is peace in the holy land."

After meeting their own low expectations for the Annapolis conference amid intense skepticism, Bush administration officials crowed with delight.

During a round of TV interviews Wednesday morning in which she praised unprecedented support for the peace process from Arab states, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told CBS News Early Show co-anchor Harry Smith she believed Olmert and Abbas did have the conviction to settle on compromises that will be deeply unpopular among many of their constituents, but crucial to the success of any long-term peace agreement.

"I see in both of these leaders a kind of commitment to do precisely that, to take the difficult decisions," she said.

After inaugurating the negotiations at the White House, the two sides have agreed to continue with a meeting in the region on Dec. 12, Rice said Tuesday.

Rice tapped James L. Jones to serve as a special envoy for Middle East security, moving quickly to maintain momentum coming out of this week's international conference that launched new Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. The retired Marine general who will advise the Secretary of State on security aspects of the new Israeli-Palestinian peace talks has a reputation for outspoken independence.

Jones, whose decorated Marine Corps career spanned five decades, most recently drew attention for a blunt, sometimes critical assessment of U.S. efforts to train Iraqi police and soldiers. Retired for less than a year, he has been in high demand in Washington for his rich resume.

"I believe we need an experienced leader who can address the regional security challenges comprehensively and at the highest levels and who can provide the full support of our government to the partners as they work to meet their responsibilities," Rice said.

"Building security in the Middle East is the surest path to making peace in the Middle East," Rice said, "and General Jones is the best individual to lead our efforts in this essential endeavor."

Jones, standing at Rice's side for the announcement in the State Department's historic Treaty Room, said he looked forward to returning to the region.

"I look forward to doing whatever I can to assist," Jones said.

Rice said that Jones would report directly to her.

State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said earlier that the job involves monitoring the development of Palestinian security services. One focus would be how those forces interact with neighboring security services, including Israeli authorities. He said the special envoy would work closely with the U.S. security coordinator for the Palestinians, Lt. Gen. Keith Dayton, who has been working in the region for two years and will remain in his post.

The United States has pledged to hold both sides to account if they do not carry out obligations under the peace talks.

Bush has held Mideast peacemaking at arms' length for most of his nearly seven years in office, arguing that conditions in Israel and the Palestinian territories were not right for a more energetic role. Arab allies, among others, have warned that the Palestinian plight underlies other conflicts and feeds grievances across the Middle East, and have urged the White House to do more.

Bush seemed to answer the criticism Tuesday, giving detailed reasons why the time is now. He said Israeli and Palestinian leaders are ready to make peace, that there is a wider and unifying fight against extremism fed by the Palestinian conflict and that he world understands the urgency of acting now.

Later, in an interview with The Associated Press, Bush spoke of the importance of giving beleaguered Palestinians something positive to look forward to - and he sketched a grim alternative.

Without a hopeful vision, he said, "it is conceivable that we could lose an entire generation - or a lot of a generation - to radicals and extremists. There has to be something more positive. And that is on the horizon today."

The President's fears were reinforced by violent clashes in the West Bank where chaos threatens to undermine Abbas' standing there, just as the international community steps up its support for him in negotiating peace with Israel and his struggle with Hamas militants.

Led by the Islamic militant Hamas, Palestinian hard-liners have been demonstrating all week, rejecting concessions to Israel and declaring that Abbas does not speak for them - outlining the severe challenge Abbas faces at home.

Cautiously optimistic Syrians and other Arabs warned on Wednesday that any U.S. failure to push forward now with aggressive peace negotiations could spark a violent backlash of dashed hopes. Iran predictably blasted the conference as a failure.

In a sign of Iran's anger over the Mideast peace conference, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad scolded Arab nations - implicitly including Iran's ally Syria - that they had made a mistake by attending. He said Israel was doomed to "collapse" and "will not survive."

Tuesday's gathering in Annapolis, Maryland, was widely seen as in part aimed at isolating Iran by rallying moderates in the region behind a new push for an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal. Syria's participation raised speculation that it could be prised out of its alliance with Tehran and militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah - though Damascus has insisted their ties are still strong.

Arab nations had been reluctant to attend the conference, fearing it would be all show without setting a substantive path for peace negotiations - or worse, trap them in a process where the Arabs will have to make concessions without the same from Israel.

A day after the ceremonies, few in the region were completely convinced, but many struck a more hopeful tone. Notably, Syria, an opponent of the U.S. in the region, said the conference could be a turning point - though its comments were in part aimed at defending its attendance in the face of hard-line critics.

All said the United States, which Arabs have long accused of failing to press Israel to take the steps needed for peace, had to play the role of a persistent, unbiased mediator.

Negotiating teams will hold their first session in the region in just two weeks, on Dec. 12, and Olmert and Abbas plan to continue one-on-one discussions they began earlier this year.